Complete with tiny tools, limited prep space and an electric range, the infamous mini kitchen forces chefs to harken back to their childhoods in the most evilicious way.
Meatball Madness
"This is the pits," said Chef Eric Greenspan, who was forced to settle into an overflowing ball pit as he prepared meatballs.
Double-Doozy Cones
In a mission to keep all $25,000, Chef Kyle didn't bid on a single sabotage in his three rounds of competition, which ultimately led him to competing in the third and final battle — an ice cream cone challenge — with a dog cone around his neck and a mandate to mix all of his ingredients in large traffic cones.
No Rest, No Relaxation
This evilicious hammock brought more panic than calming vibes for Chef Alexis when he learned that it would double as his work station. As if the holed fabric wasn't enough of a challenge — ingredients and tools kept falling through them — the swinging motion nearly put Chef Alexis over the edge as he tried to prep his pineapple upside-down cake in motion.
Anything But a Cakewalk
Cupcakes proved not so sweet for Chef Neal, who was forced to walk on cake boxes during a time-suck sabotage in Round 3.
Tailgating Gone Evil
In a big-game-themed episode, two chefs ditched their workstations for stadium-style bleachers, where they had to prepare and cook their chicken wings. Instead of working with their pantry ingredients, however, they could use only the items, like an already topped hot dog, to make their dishes.
Crepes on the Move
You say "crepes Suzette"; Alton says "lazy Susan." Chef Todd found himself in a spinning situation as he attempted to prepare his crepes in the midst of a rotating station.
Long-Range Cooking
A Salisbury steak dinner challenge turned into a high-stakes affair — literally — for Chef Jose, who had to prepare his dish with extra-long-handled tools from high atop his work table.
Ringside Performance
A ring shape is a hallmark of fried calamari, and Alton celebrated these sweet pieces of seafood with a time suck that asked one chef to spend precious minutes playing a game of ring toss to earn the calamari rings for his or her dish.
Careful Work
"In curry, as in life, balance is everything," Alton told the chefs before auctioning off a balance beam, on which one person, ultimately Chef Alfred, would have to prepare his curry offering.
High Places, Big Stakes
While kid-friendly chicken fingers may seem simple enough to prepare, Chef Joel met a grown-up challenge when he was forced to prepare his dish with children's tools while seated in an oversized highchair.
The Demands of Chocolate
It wasn't enough to saddle the top-two chefs remaining in a special chocolate-themed episode to simply prepare a box of chocolates; one had to spend a precious five minutes on the line of a chocolate conveyor belt, boxing chocolates as they passed through.
More to Mash
As if it weren't challenging enough for Chef Gentile to sacrifice one hand's utility when making gnocchi, the potato masher taped to his arm became caught in the oven door handle, and even Alton struggled to break him free.
Classic Accompaniment
Quesadillas and margaritas are often better together, but perhaps not when Chef Leah was forced to blend two pitchers' worth of the cocktail from a human-powered bike.
Crepe Catastrophe
"It's going to be ugly, but I know it tastes good," Chef Aaron said of his Round-3 crepes. The traditionally delicate meal took a scary-looking turn when he attempted to craft the crepes on a severely bent pan.
A Not-So-Happy Birthday
Before Chef Jessica could begin making the ultimate birthday cake, she had to source just a few key ingredients, like flour and eggs, from shelf upon shelf of wrapped presents. "These presents were not fun," she said. "They were taped up really well. They had lots of paper."
Not-Easy Eggs
"This camp stove could very well be a death sentence," Alton said after he auctioned it off before cooking began on an eggs Benedict test. And indeed it was for Chef Sevan, who admitted, "Eggs Benedict is my specialty; it'd be embarrassing to lose this round."
Makeshift Prep Space
"I've got about 10 inches by 12 inches of table to work on," Chef Blanckenberg said after losing his entire workstation to a miniature tray. "But that it's it. I better just keep going."
Foiled Plans
Chef Pink was pleased to gift Chef Gwen a sabotage that forced the latter to use a roll of aluminum foil to make all of her cooking tools. "When I glance over at Chef Gwen trying to make these utensils out of tinfoil," Chef Pink said, "I just am cracking up inside."
The Dreaded Appliance
Chef Robert hoped to avoid working with the microwave as his only heat source, but ultimately the sabotage fell to him. "I haven't cooked in a microwave since when I was, like, 20," he noted.
Drilling for Water
Alton requested teriyaki rice bowls in Round 3, but for Chef Kellan, finding water to cook the rice — or anything else — wasn't as simple as turning on the sink. He had to source all of his cooking liquid from coconuts, which he opened with a machete. "That was evil," he admitted.
Knife Block
Chef Wang lost his professional knives to a box cutter, and in a sandwich-and-side test, that meant he had to slice bread using that implement alone.
Fishing for Bananas
Although Chef Kori managed to feature fresh plantains in her bananas Foster dish, she was forced to incorporate one cup of banana-flavored candies as well, which she had to pick out of a giant candy jar.
Culinary Laundry
The Round-3 test asked the final two chefs to make steamed mussels, and they soon learned that Alton meant that literally when he auctioned off a clothes steamer and iron.
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